Over a recent number of years, there has been a strong movement within the surgical community toward minimally invasive therapies. The main goals of the minimally invasive therapies include: 1) eradication of tissue, 2) decreased hospitalization time, 3) limited postoperative morbidities, 4) shortened return interval to daily functions and work, and 5) reduced overall treatment cost. Cryotherapy is a minimally invasive method of treating a disease state through tissue freezing with thousands of patients now receiving the procedure annually. Currently, cryotherapy is used to treat numerous disease states including organ confined tumors such as prostate, kidney, liver, as well as cardiovascular disease, retinal detachment, pain management, and other illness/disease states.
Cryotherapy is an effective yet minimally invasive alternative to surgery and radiation therapy. The procedure is done under either general or epidural anesthesia. Since it is minimally invasive, it offers patients a quicker recovery and reduced severity of potential side effects. Without the expense associated with major surgery or an extended hospital stay, cryotherapy is a cost-effective treatment option.
Prior studies have utilized various cryosurgical probes and procedures for insulating and delivering cryogen without excess freezing of tissue along the shaft of the cryoprobe. These processes include permanent vacuums or insulation along the length of the probe. Thus, there exists a need for improvements in cryotherapy, and medical devices or components associated with the treatment to better circulate liquid cryogen to a cryoprobe and facilitate improved measures for treatment and cost.
The medical device of the invention disclosed herein will accommodate the needs for improved cryoprobes and catheters as utilized in cardiac care, cancer therapeutics, and cryotreatment of other disease states. The invention will allow for temperature induced transient vacuum insulation of the shaft of a cryoprobe or catheter. Embodiments of the device will also allow for the enhanced deposition on the outer surfaces of the inner tubes through modification of the tube surfaces, and thereby contribute to the insulation barrier. The invention will facilitate the eradication of tissue, decrease hospitalization time, limit postoperative morbidities, shorten return to daily functions and work, and further reduce the overall treatment cost. In addition, these improvements to device design and application will increase its utilization for the treatment of multiple disease states in various fields of health care and surgical applications, including cardiac care, cancer treatment, neuro/electrophysiology, and numerous others.